


Their First Christmas

by fangirlingalchemist



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 19:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17168321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingalchemist/pseuds/fangirlingalchemist
Summary: The first Christmas the Chocobros spend together.





	Their First Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so this is my first time writing FFXV and my first published fic in ages... written for my lovely mutuals on twitter who inspired it, I hope you like it!

It was their second Christmas together as friends and Noct was jealous.

Listening to Prompto talk to their classmates about their holiday plans with their families, being unable to add anything to the conversation because the entire damn Country already knew how he was going to be spending his time.

The first of the month-long spectacle was already done with, he and his dad had lit the First Fire of Winter (which the Citadel staff were to maintain until the Dawn of Spring) taken some photos for the papers and were carted off by their respective chamberlains without so much as a “Happy First Fire!” shared between them.  
The Citadel was all decorated, and every day seemed to bring new stress about the upcoming festivities.

Every Winter that passed made him ever more grateful for the presence of Ignis and Gladio in his life. From keeping him company as a child still too young to participate beyond standing still for a Greetings Card photo, to their tradition of them and Iris spending the day after Mass together, exchanging heartfelt gifts while their fathers’ oversaw the public festivities.  
As the years went by and Noct’s responsibilities grew, this time of year became less fun and much more work. Instead of snowball fights with Gladio, he had training. Instead of baking and hot cocoa with Ignis, it was arranging the Christmas Village and cramming homework between state functions. Instead of dolls and stories with Iris, it was attending the last week of school while balancing exams, reports, and whatever else demanded the Prince’s attention.

So to hear his best friend talk about the cozy fireplace, the presents under the tree, the stockings hung with care, the cookies and milk and dinner with his parents made him near nauseous. Although, it was more mixed feelings; Prompto LOVED the winter holidays, as soon as the Autumnal Festival had ended he was bellowing out carols and wearing red and green sweaters. It was honestly adorable and somehow his friend’s enthusiasm helped Noctis see it in a new light. Instead of the stuffiness of the Citadel’s celebrations, he now knew that Normal People spent the holidays with their Family, eating homemade meals, and squabbling over Normal People Problems.

For the first time since he was very little, he found himself missing his mom. He always missed her, but in a superficial kind of way, as he never had the chance to know her. But now, listening to the other talk about their mom’s glazed ham, their father’s eggnog, their grandma’s ugly sweaters, their grandpa’s stories, playing and fighting with their siblings and cousins, he found that he missed his mom fiercely. His dad was too busy as King, and from what he could hear, a lot of children had busy, working fathers, but at least they had a mother to stay and watch over them.

  
“... yeah, and we always sing Silent Night together before going to bed on Christmas Eve!”

  
Prompto’s face was lit up with joy and anticipation, his gestures wide, his smile so damn blinding it took all of Noct’s willpower not to smile in return.

  
“Hey, Noct! Let’s stop by the arcade on the way back! It’s the last day of school and I want to get all my brotime before we don’t see each other until next semester.”

  
And there’s the other reason Noctis disliked the winter holidays. Unlike summer or spring break, winter had so many events that not only was he unable to spend time with his dad, even Prompto was too busy to hang out with him.

  
It hadn’t bothered him, until Prompto became his friend and he spent the previous holidays missing the blonde like crazy and feeling guilty for wishing he could join them at the Citadel instead of spending the weeks with his family.  
He ended up zoning out the entire rest of the afternoon, despite all of Prompto’s attempts to draw him out. They parted ways when Ignis picked him up and Prompto hugged him goodbye so tightly he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

  
“Happy Holidays buddy!” There was an odd shakiness to his voice, his hands still clinging tightly to Noct’s jacket. With a deep sigh, Prompto stepped back, sending a grin and a cheery wave to Ignis, waiting by the car. “Happy Holidays Iggy!”

  
Ignis waved in return. If he had been paying closer attention, Noct would’ve sworn he saw his older friend smile. 

  
Prompto smiled, softer, at Noct, “I gotta head back, mom will be waiting! See you guys later!”  
Noct was able to stammer out a “Happy Holidays!” before Prompto disappeared behind a street corner.

 

 

 

The next week could only be described as hell. Between organizing the final preparations, school homework, his extra studies, training, and the countless state events and counsel meetings, Noct though he was going to pass out from exhaustion.  
He knew Gladio was taking it easy on him during training, that Ignis was probably juggling even more responsibilities on his behalf, that his dad must be just as if not more exhausted as he was, but all that did was make him feel even worse. His only respite was in the brief, stolen moments when he could text Prompto.

  
Prompto who would tell him about the cookies he was baking with his mom, of the day trips to the park with his dad to photograph the snow laden trees, of them decorating the house while carols play in the background. Living vicariously through those messages, allowing himself to pretend his life was normal, if even just for a minute.

It was Christmas Eve and, as per tradition, Gladio, Ignis, and Noct had slipped away after fulfilling their required duties. Sitting in Noct’s quarters, having idle chit chat while nibbling at the food Ignis pilfered from the kitchens. For the first time in days, the three of them could just breathe.

“I miss the guy.” Gladio grumbled, “It’s not the same spending time without him.”  
Ignis nodded, sipping on spiced Ebony, “I must say I agree... over the past two years Prompto has become such an integral part of our group.. it feels weird to be without him.”

  
“Well, we can’t get between him and his family.. heck if I could spend the holidays with my dad and Iris I would!”  
Noct groaned, “Still miss him, though.. it’s been over a week since we’ve all hanged out together..”

  
Ignis did that nerdy thing with his glasses, which Noct secretly thought looked cool, but that Gladio would tease him about nonstop and said, “You know, there’s no reason why we can’t stop by and say hello. It’s about time we’ve met his parents anyway.”

  
“Great idea Specs! Let’s pack up some cookies and head on over!”

The drive over was filled with palpable excitement. They would go see a normal house, catch a glimpse of a Normal Family Christmas, maybe Prompto’s parents would let them stay for an hour or so for carols and cookies even! As they pulled up the street they stared in awe at all the houses lit up with elaborate and creative illuminations. That is, all the houses except one.

  
“That’s not right,” Ignis muttered, as he parked the car in front of Prompto’s house. There were no decorations, no wreaths on the door, no strings of light on the trim, no snowmen in the yard, no lights at all for that matter, except for Prompto’s bedroom window.  
They all filed out of the car, making their way up the icy path. They rang the doorbell, but it must’ve been broken for the inside of the house was deathly silent.

  
Noct took the spare key out from under the doormat, letting them in as the snow started to fall outside.  
There was honestly very little difference in temperature between the house and outside. They silently made their way around, a tenseness in their movements.

They knew they shouldn’t be there, be snooping, but something felt very Wrong and they had to know what was going on.

  
A quick survey of the first floor showed empty rooms, all of them pristine and untouched, like a model house or for a photo shoot. The kitchen was more used, but again, meticulously tidy; all the cutlery and cabinets pointing towards meals eaten alone.  
They exchanged glances, How long? How long has Prompto been living alone? How many Christmases has he spent in this empty house?

  
Making their way up the stairs, they could hear soft humming from Prompto’s room. The hallway was dark, the only light coming from under his bedroom door.

  
Gently opening the door, they froze. The room was lit by a single lantern, an old radiator providing the only warmth in the house, but even then the room was nowhere near warm enough. Prompto was wrapped up in blankets, sitting in the middle of his bed as he fiddled with his wristband. He was singing Silent Night to himself, the chocobo plushie on his lap obscuring half his face.

  
He hadn’t even heard them come in.

  
Ignis let out a shaky breath, causing him to look up, startled.  
Fear, relief, joy, realization, horror, embarrassment, pain, all danced across his features in seconds. His eye shone, his lip trembling as he waved weakly, “Umm, maybe knock guys? Not that I’m not happy to see you- but I kinda was hoping you all wouldn’t find out that I’m...”  
“Spending the holidays alone?” Noct bit out with a grimace.  
“Well I was gonna say, a lying lier who lies to his friends so they don’t feel bad that he’s the only one who’s parents are never around for the holidays, but yeah, that works too!”

  
His voice was falsely cheerful, and now, looking back, they could see how every time the holidays came up, Prompto had never Truly been enthusiastic about it.  
“You know,” Gladio said, sitting next to Prompto on the bed, “None of us really get to spend the holidays with our parents either, or any time for that matter, but at least we have each other, and that’s including you, Prom.” He put his arm around the younger teen’s shoulders, hugging tightly.  
“None of us have had exactly easy childhoods nor perfect families, and that’s what makes what the four of us have so special.” Ignis sat on the other side of him taking Prompto’s hands gently between his larger ones, holding them to his chest.

  
Noct, lunged forward, his arms wrapping around Prompto’s waist, burying his face in his friend’s stomach, “I missed you, missed seeing you, so bad. And I felt so guilty because I thought you are enjoying time with your family and I was so jealous and I just wanted to see you but I didn’t want to get in the way but all this time, all these years, you’ve been alone and I haven’t been. I’m so sorry for not noticing sooner.”  
Prompto’s voice shook, “It’s okay guys, really. I kinda went out of my way to make sure no one would find out so.. oof!”

  
They all hugged him even tighter, Ignis burying his face in Prompto’s hair. Gladio tugged Noct up between him and Prompto, effectively sandwiching him between them and they all flailed about in a tangle of limbs, smiling through the stray tears that fell down their cheeks.  
“Pack up a bag, you’re spending the rest of the holidays with us.” Noct, couldn’t stop himself from nuzzling against Prompto’s face.  
“I second that,” Gladio said, his voice softer than usual, his fingers carding through Prompto’s hair.  
“Agreed,” Ignis detangled himself from the others’ limbs, tugging Prompto up by the hands as he did so, “Up up, everyone! We’ve still got a couple of hours left until it’s officially Christmas and I for one, would like to greet the day with a mug of something hot, next to the fireplace in Noct’s quarters, with all of you on the sofa with me.”  
Prompto smiled, feeling truly warm for the first time in days, “Sounds amazing, Iggy.”

 

 

An hour later had the four of them sprawled on the sofa, soaking in the warmth from the fire. Noct was stretched out across the sofa, his feet resting in Gladio’s lap, who had Prompto tucked under his arm, half on his lap as well, curled up impossibly small, with his face resting on the larger teen’s chest. Gladio was already half asleep, his face nestled in Prompto’s hair as his hand rubbed in soothing motions across Prom’s back.

Noct rested against Ignis’ chest, the older teen’s arms wrapped around him, as he pet Noct’s hair gently, his own legs tangled up in Noct’s.

A lazy smile spread across Prompto’s face.  
“I love you guys. Happy Holidays.”  
“Happy Holidays, Prom.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ya, so this is p messy and I was watching a freakin scary movie with my mom towards the end and my phone is dying so I just want to post it asap. I’ll add tags later maybe, maye make into a series of holidays with the Chocobros idk


End file.
